Tone library / Metallica / Enter Sandman

Enter Sandman amp settings — Fender Champion 40

The Metallica guitar tone for “Enter Sandman”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 40 with a Ibanez GRG121SP-BKN. Studio version, Metallica (The Black Album), 1991

Original rig

ESP MX-220 with EMG 81 bridge pickup → Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC++ → Marshall 4x12 cabinet. No pedals on rhythm riff — all gain from amp preamp.

Tight, percussive high-gain with scooped mids, chunky palm-muted low end, aggressive pick attack, dry and focused with clear note separation

Amp settings — Fender Champion 40

CHANNELOverdrive (Voice switch: position 2 or 3 for tighter voicing)

Knob	Setting (0–10)
Gain	8
Bass	4
Treble	7
Master	5

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Guitar

PICKUPbridge TONE10 VOLUME10

Signal chain

01Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive

Use as a boost to tighten low end and add midrange cut. Stacks into the amp's overdrive channel to compensate for the Champion's looser voicing vs Mesa Mark tightness.

Drive 2 · Tone 6 · Level 7

02Behringer Eq700

Critical for the scooped-mid metal EQ the Champion cannot achieve alone. Cut 400Hz and 800Hz, boost upper mids for pick attack clarity.

100Hz 4 · 200Hz 5 · 400Hz 3 · 800Hz 4 · 1.6kHz 6 · 3.2kHz 7 · Level 5

Why these settings

The Champion 40 has no mid or presence knob — bass and treble only. The Mesa Mark IIC++ scooped-mid tone requires the EQ700 to cut 400-800Hz manually. Your Ibanez's passive humbuckers are lower output than Hetfield's EMG 81, so the TO800 in front adds the compression and midrange push the active pickup would provide. Gain stays high on the Champion's overdrive channel since it saturates less aggressively than a Mesa.

PRO TIPPalm mute directly over the bridge pickup for maximum tightness — the Mark IIC++ tone relies on extremely precise right-hand muting to keep the low end percussive rather than boomy. Downpick every note of the main riff; no alternate picking.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 40. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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